ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



213 



[FiK- 130 ] 



niossjr Rose Gall— fK. i/. Loclce, Honem/e Falls, 

 A^. r.— The mi.ss-like bunches (Kig. ISO) of which you 

 Ibuiiil ei;.'ht on a single rose 

 busli , anil whii-h attract d 

 your atti'ntion from tin u 

 ri'.siMublancc to an old cjuid ol 

 tobacco, are polythalanious 

 jfalls. They arc coniposcil 

 of an agglomeration of hard 

 cells, many of which are at, 

 lirescut vacant, though sonu 

 yet contain larva'. The gall- 

 fly wliich causes this gall i> 

 the JihodiUs rosn, Linn., au 

 insect which Baron 0.stcii 

 Sackcn found to be identi- 

 cal with a species which 

 makes a similar gall on the 

 rose in Europe, where it is 

 known as the Bedeguar of when dry. 



the rose. The fly measures about O.ir, inch in length, 

 and is principally distinguished by the $ having a black 

 tip to her reddish abdomen. The larva of this gall-fly 

 very closely resembles that of the Pithy Blackberry gill, 

 represented iu No. a, at Figure 10:{. c. It is yellowish, 

 has but 12 joints, of which the ith is very short, and the 

 nth and 12th ijuite small; it has 7 pairs of spiracles, 

 namely, a pair on each of joints 2, 5, U, 7, 8, y and 10, 

 and a large oval horny yellowish patch on each side of 

 joint 1. The jaws are dark, and the head, iu repose, is 

 always bent under on to the breast. A parasitic larva 

 olten occurs iu this gall, but may easily be distinguished 

 from the true gall-uuiker by its whiter and more opaque 

 color, its 13-jointed and .slightly hairy body, the joints 

 being less deeply separated, and by the absence of the 

 horny piece on joint 1, and the more elongate and less 

 bent forepart of body. 



[FiK.131.] Punctures on Rose 'Ewig — Geo. W. 

 Copleij, Alton, TZ/*.-— The punctures in the 

 stem of the Multiflora Rose, and which we 

 illustrate herewith (Fig. 131), are made by 

 some insect unknown to us, for the purpose 

 of depositing its eggs. There are ten of these 

 rounded punctures, about one-half Inch dis- 

 tant from one another, the fibres of the wood 

 being toi-n in shreds longitudinally, looking 

 very nuich like hemp, and contrasting strong- 

 ly with the crimson and green bark of the twig. 

 Upon cutting into tliese punctures the wood 

 is foiuid to be discolored and dead, as far as 

 they extend, and in the centre of the pith, 

 placed longitudinally, is an elongate dull yel- 

 low, opaque, soft, more or less flattened egg, 

 0.22 inch long and 0.04 wide, the anterior 

 end tapering to a tolerably fine point, the 

 posterior end more blunt . From the size and 

 appearance of this egg we infer that it belongs 

 to some Cricket (Gryllid.*;}, and if we 

 i) succeed In rearing it we vrill report re- 



lura) gray. SUItS. 



Suout-beetle— J/^ T., Vineland, N. J.—'ih6 Snout- 

 beetles which you find so numerous, are Hylolius cnn- 

 fusus, Kirb. We know nothing of its habits; but the 

 beetles of tliis genus are timber borers, and usually in 

 pine. 



The Oyster-shell Bark-Iousc in missouri— 



£. P. Hiiiian. Lnray, Clarle cuuuty, J/w.— The section of 

 a branch of a Sweet .June apple tree, which CFit i.ii.'.] 

 you cut from the orchard ol Dr. Wm. II. 

 iMartin, of Kahoka, in your county, is in 

 reality covered with the scales of the com- 

 mon Oyster-shell liark-lousc (AepiMvlus 

 i-onchiformif!, (jinelj. It is furthermore 

 covered very thickly, and the wliitc cgus 

 underneath the scales are plump and 

 healthy. This matter is of such vital in- 

 terest and importance to the State of Mis- 

 souri, and especially to those living iu 

 your couiUy, that wc (piote part of your 

 letter : 



"This tree is rather badlv inlested. and 

 I find by examinalimi ili:il Ihev (Ihe in- 

 sects) are spreading >ligliily onto'the near- 

 est trees around it. \\ ill Ihcy spj-ead Ironi 

 one orchard to another, one or two miles 

 distant? I saved my orchard from the 

 native White Bark-louse, by sending you 

 specimens ot them and ol their foes, and 

 by learning Irom vou what to do to de- Color — Greenish 

 stroy the lice I took your advice; en- u[,'der"the8MiM 

 couraged the ladybirds, and they cleared miik-whiie. 

 my trees of the lice. If your advice in this case shall 

 accomplish as much for my fHend, Dr. Martin, the 

 object of this communication will have been accom- 

 plished." 



In our First State Report we published a full account 

 of this insect, and demonstrated that though it was 

 perfectly able to live and thrive In the northern hall of 

 the State, and had ju-oved ruinously injurious in the 

 adjoining sections of the States of Iowa, and more espe- 

 cially of Illinois; yet, in all probability, it was entirely 

 unknown in our own State. In view of these (acts, we 

 laid great stress upon the importance of preventing its 

 introduction, and of thus retaining the imnninity which 

 we had so far enjoyed. In the paper read before the 

 State Horticultural Society at its last annual meeting, 

 and published in No. i of the present volume of this 

 magazine, we again called attention to the subject; and 

 now for the first time we learn that this pest has actu- 

 tually been iutroduced. and our worst fears are but too 

 surely realized I Just as might have been expected. 

 too, the insect first gains a footing in the extreme north- 

 east corner of the State — the point of greatest proximity 

 to the infested sections of Illinois and Iowa. From the 

 contents of your letter we infer that the lice are yet 

 confined to the particular tree from wliich you lUt the 

 infested twig, and to a few of those surroiuiding it, and 

 in the name of the State, we earnestly ask Dr. Martin 

 to have this tree cut down to the ground, and every par- 

 ticle of it burned before the young lice hatch from the 

 eggs now under the scales. The other trees should also 

 be critically examined and properly treated. We cannot 

 here repeat what we have already written on the sub- 

 ject, but refer you to the article above-mentioned, for 

 the natural history of this insect, and the proper reme- 

 dies to apply; and if Dr. Martin follows our advice, he 

 can rest assured that it will not only accomplish as much 

 for him as it did for yourself, but that it will also be of 

 immense benefit to the State. It would be well to send 

 to Chas. W. Murtfcldt, 012 N. Filth street, SI. Louis, 

 for a dozen copies of the State Agricultural Report for 

 1868, which contains the article, so that it may hv dis- 

 tributed among Dr. JIartin's neighbors. We must, at 

 all cost, stamp this insect out, before it spreads any 

 further, and iu order tu definitely ascertain the limits 



